MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. Inflation in Russia is currently at a moderate level, but there are signals of its acceleration, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a videoconference meeting on economic issuses. The Russian president underlined the necessity of preserving stable prices, ensuring a balance between supply and demand, and raising wages in the public sector.

Putin expressed optimism that Russia's economy will continue to expand rapidly in the near future.

Inflation

Inflation in Russia is now at a moderate level, but there is a chance of it increasing - "including due to the fact that Russian producers’ supply lags behind demand."

It is critical to maintain a balance between supply and demand. The government is given the main position in this regard, and it is expected to contribute to the maximum possible expansion of goods and services.

Russian economy

Putin noted that the Russian economy will continue to grow rapidly in the near future, according to a number of indicators. Putin emphasized that bank lending is one of the encouraging indications of corporate activity.

"As of July 1, preliminary data show that annual growth in ruble-denominated corporate loans exceeded 21%, while loans to individuals increased by 16.7%. Such lending figures suggest the expanding demands of businesses for raw materials, commodities, and equipment. Furthermore, people’s demand for final products is expanding, implying that the economy's and state budget revenues' high growth rates should be sustained in the future quarters," Putin stated.

According to him, Russian companies and enterprises remain stable and are able to overcome all problems. "On the whole, our companies, enterprises, and businesses are working confidently, remain stable, and successfully overcome any difficulties that arise," the president stated.

"Moreover, statistics show that it was possible not only to guarantee the stability of the real sector, finance, and services, but also to achieve significant progress in the most important areas of development,"he added.

Budget deficit

The Russian government budget deficit fell to 510 bln rubles ($5.64 bln) in the Q2 of 2023. It amounted to 2.6 trillion rubles ($28.7 bln) in January - June, which is 1.6% of the estimated GDP for the year (it was originally predicted to be 2% of GDP).

"Positive economic dynamics are critical to the long-term viability of public finances," Putin said.

GDP

Russia's GDP growth rate has accelerated from month to month this year, and there is every reason to assume that growth will fully offset last year's decline in 2023, Putin said. "For the entire 2022, GDP decreased by 2.1% and in January-May of 2023 it grew by 0.6$, and from month to month the pace accelerated: in May -up to 5.4%," he said.

"We expect GDP to grow by more than 2% by the end of the year," Putin said, adding that "this growth will completely offset last year's decline."

Non-oil and gas revenues

Russia managed to dramatically boost its non-oil and gas revenues - the rate in the Q2 was 43.5% and 17.8% over the previous six months.

"Along with good dynamics in the manufacturing industries, all of this points to the strengthening of the real sector, as well as the expansion of domestic manufacturing business," Putin said.